Zero friction: the new luxury for entrepreneurs

Par Gabriel Goldberg 29 March 2026 4 min read

Ten years ago, an entrepreneur's success was measured by the weight of his possessions. A gigantic office, a two-ton SUV, a watch as thick as a safe. Today, it's the exact opposite. True success has become invisible. I'll share a confession that often surprises people in certain business circles: I am fundamentally a simple person. Despite thirty years of professional travel across the globe, I fly almost exclusively in economy class. Why? Because the nose of the plane arrives at exactly the same time as the tail. True luxury, in my view, is no longer found in a glass of champagne served at 10,000 metres altitude, but in the absolute fluidity of my journey once my feet hit the ground. En route. My favourite mobile office: a train seat, a phone, and zero traffic. Bling has become not only vulgar but, above all, cumbersome. The real social status in 2026 is agility. It's "zero friction". It's what I was already analysing when I observed the end of the car as a status symbol . The obsession with flexibility and the Japanese lesson When I land abroad, I flee heavy convoys and waiting. I instinctively favour the most fluid, the densest, the most intelligent transport. And there is one country that has elevated this philosophy to an absolute art form: Japan. The Shinkansen. 300 km/h, an average annual delay of 54 seconds. True luxury is certainty. The Shinkansen taught me something fundamental: luxury is not speed, it's certainty. An average annual delay of 54 seconds. A metro…